1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data processing systems and in particular to order management systems. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for real-time identification of sub-assemblies containing nested parts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern manufacturing often involves a multi-tiered assembly process. First, a set of parts is assembled together into sub-assemblies. Second, the sub-assemblies are further assembled into more complex sub-assemblies. The process of using sub-assemblies to create larger sub-assemblies continues until a finished product is created. Thus, the finished product may be a complex structure comprised of multiple, nested sub-assemblies. For example, a hard drive may be part of a drive tray sub-assembly, the drive tray sub-assembly may be part of a drawer sub-assembly, and the drawer sub-assembly may be part of a completed server.
When parts are deeply nested in a sub-assembly or a finished product, it is important to be able to locate the highest-level sub-assembly containing a specific part. For example, when a specific part is discovered to be defective, it is useful to be able to locate all of the highest-level sub-assemblies containing the defective part in order to replace the defective part.
Currently, software applications are used to perform a post-production analysis to determine which products contain specific parts. The post-production analysis recursively analyzes sub-assemblies to determine the highest-level products containing a specific part. Because the analysis is performed post-production rather than in real-time, the analysis is performed when the parts have already been assembled into a finished product.